


I Hate It Too

by HomesickAlien



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, happy valentines day to the boy who deserves it most: izumi sena, not technically late if it's still valentines in my timezone right ...........
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 11:42:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13680993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomesickAlien/pseuds/HomesickAlien
Summary: “Yuu-kuuun…?I don’t want to bother you while you’re working, but heey, just what was the meaning of those actions we took so far?It’s nothing like the date I imagined! We’re doing it over! Once more, I say!”





	I Hate It Too

**Author's Note:**

> here's a ship i never thought i'd write for, but you know what they say? neither do i.  
> i've been so strong, you know?? midsummer didn't phase me. Runway never effected me. but man.... Man! the eden trickstar event !!!!! izumi and makoto just !!!!! i loved it i have no better explanation you know?  
> i mean... im still not sure i want them to date but like !!!!!!!!!!! FRIENDSHIP kills a man.  
> I thought i should give izumi the date he deserves for valentines day... There were 500 other ships I could have (should have) wrote about, but I've read this event 20 times (i kept count) and it still gets me .... For the 5 people who actually like izmk, this one's for YOU!

It wouldn’t really matter where they went, together. Izumi is more than happy to follow right behind Makoto on his whims, like a shadow in the pits of Hell, he never lets up. Be it boring, boring work or otherwise, Izumi sticks to him like glue with nothing less than a smile and cheers. Despite that, it will always come as a surprise to him being asked to tag along as opposed to going of his own volition. 

“I was thinking, maybe I really should repay you for the last one. That is, that we should go on a serious date.”

Makoto mumbles it out like a chore, asking as they walk side by side to their respective homes. To be asked if he were free the coming weekend by Makoto, rather than a dream, it feels as though he were killed in his sleep and somehow managed to claw his way into Heaven. Whether he were busy or not, it wouldn’t matter at all to Izumi, he’s already determined to make time even if it means adding a twenty-fifth hour to the day. Rather, his mind is so quick to agree he doesn’t even contemplate the concept of time at all.

They have gotten rather close in recent times, he thinks, but the cost is always trying to catch up with lost time between their peaceful days as idols. Still, the prospect of calling those times dates- genuine dates, serious dates- feels the same as if Izumi were nodding his head to a pact with the Devil. Though their last ‘date,’ were nothing more than a false paradise, he’d happily oblige to a dozen more falsehoods so long as it brings them that much closer together.

It’s not as though it were bad, protecting Makoto once more, or reminiscing about their simple, childhood days. But to experience that which normal teens do, dates that involve nothing more than fatty foods he’d otherwise avoid or ugly clothes he’d otherwise never touch, is almost invigorating to him. He’s never had anything more than this pristine, and otherwise unrelatable, life so unlike even the light of his life that it’s impossible to hold back. To be immature, just as expected of Izumi Sena no matter how much he grows, he’ll always be like this.

“Yuu-kun~” Izumi swoons, “Could it really, really be true? That you love me as much as I lo-”

Izumi is immediately cut off by Makoto’s denial.

“A friend date, a friend date, jeez…”

That’s one way to reason it, but Izumi’s heart won’t stop it’s fluttering once it’s started. Maybe he is just like a young girl in love. Regardless of how hard he works to better himself, nothing changes the giddiness of being asked out by a girl’s first crush after all. 

 

Of course, nothing is ever truly satisfactory for a spoiled girl like Izumi.

He can plan his fairytale date as much as he likes, but nothing will ever follow through if he doesn’t share the script with his prince. It’s surreal to think when he pulls down the curtain, his prince has long since become an utterly average, utterly normal boy. He shows off unfashionable clothes and cheap accessories so carefree, that they might start looking like lower class to the masses around them. How pitiful it feels to Izumi to spend his numbered days with such average people, as though he were all that different. 

“Isn’t this cute,” Makoto would say with a smile, “I think it would suit someone like you.”

“It’s just an average shirt, though?”

“Right? I think you’d blend in a lot better if you dressed more normally. You’re always looking so extravagantly, like you just can’t turn off you’re modeling act, you know?”

That’s probably rather accurate, too, Izumi thinks, but he’s not going to admit defeat just like that. He’s so torn between accepting it simply because it’s Yuu-kun who’s offering, and his pride asking to be dominant in his opinions on the matter of being stylish. The latter always rules out, of course, it’s had much more time to develop and is far less fickle than love. That is, he lets his own denial flow out less vilely than he would give it to any other, but still with enough bite to be undeniably Izumi-like. 

“That’s because I am a model all the time. My private life- and yours, too- is just as much my public life as being on stage or on a shoot. So, I have to be looking my best all the time.”

And, of course, he simply wants to look his best all the time. Being famous is a blessing and a curse, after all, but mostly a blessing in Izumi Sena’s mind. To be beloved and working his hardest to earn it is just the type of boy hardworking Izumi is, and that would be a rather attractive point to Makoto if it didn’t translate to working hard for his attention, as well.

“If it’s Izumi we’re talking about, I’m sure even casual clothes would look good on you.”

“Naturally, but just because I can look good in anything doesn’t mean I should wear just anything.” Izumi shakes his head, “If anything, Yuu-kun is too relaxed about his image.”

“Maybe so, but I’d rather live comfortably than lavishly.”

Makoto smiles, putting the shirt back on it’s rack and wavering through for something more exuberant to suit Izumi’s style. Makoto is lacking in so many respects, or at least, that’s how he feels being surrounded by idols like Izumi. Though they did grow up together, it still feels like they’ve come out of entirely different eras in regards to how they live now. The time they spent away from one another hadn’t felt all that long, but he supposes the effects remain. He’s average enough to walk into a crowded mall without attracting much attention, and waste away his freetime online and playing games and the likes. He wonders if being this relaxed is a privilege, or if being too high strung is worth the pains Izumi endures. If Izumi considers it a pain at all, being so used to things most people wouldn’t think of in a day, like calories or sleeping properly every night at the exact same time. He’s more like an excessively good child than the spoiled brat he lets himself on to be. 

“I think a shirt with some kind of annoying slogan might be most suited for Izumi.”

Makoto speaks deviously, tugging at some shirts riddled with obnoxiously cutesy large text. It’s like payback for the silly scarf he still forces himself to wear with Izumi present, but it’s not entirely a lie. 

“Absolutely not. It would be bad to advertise anything disapproving as an idol. Plus, it’s just embarrassing.”

Izumi pushes the shirts back, looking off with disappointment at his very own. He can be such a difficult person, after all, not even playing along with the sentiment. That, in itself, is rather endearing. Even if he comes off as frustrating, it shows how much effort he’s really put into being famous, and maybe Makoto should straighten up a little bit, though he supposes he has less to lose being still in high school. He shrugs his shoulders and sighs.

“Sheesh, at least pretend a little. Well, I was getting hungry, anyway, want to get something to eat?”

He doesn’t really have to ask, as of course the answer will always be yes, but he gives Izumi the opportunity to agree with all his might before dragging him along to the food court. Growth is a slow burn, but it seems even the Izumi that holds back is still dramatic enough for Makoto to question why he’s gone off to be an idol and not a drama actor.  _ Actually _ , he thinks, Izumi might be too overdramatic for even a director to cast him for their soap operas. 

Izumi doesn’t eat much, and though he attempts to dissuade Makoto from eating too much junk, it doesn’t really have an effect on him. Makoto is rather well trained in the art of ignoring Izumi specifically, as much as he appreciates the attempt at caring. Sometimes, it’s pleasant to relish in junk food as opposed to eating properly everyday, even if it only adds to the romantic flavor of their date. That was ultimately the goal anyway, he thinks, to give Izumi a date to appease his high standards. 

“You should enjoy sweet things too, sometimes, Izumi. Maybe you’d be less bitter.”

“I’m not bitter at all, though?”

“Maybe not with me, but I can’t think of anyone else who’d describe you as a sweet person.”

Izumi pouts, kicking his feet up to whine about all the rude comments being lashed out at him against his will. He has been improving upon being sweet, he’s even been kind to their half-baked producer and obnoxious juniors, after all. Of course, a negative image is much harder to scrub clean than a good one, and it’s easy to muddle even the most pristine of images, so he’s more or less trapped between a rock and a hard place. He almost wishes they already had a bad boy image, if only to bear less of the burden that has been his past mistakes. 

“Here, you really should try this. It’s too sweet for me to eat it all, anyway…”

Makoto brings up his fork with a bite of cake towards Izumi. It’s not as though he intended to give off a vibe like he wanted Izumi to eat it from his hands, but that’s certainly the way Izumi has chosen to take it.

“ _ Ah~  _ This is bad. Yuu-kun feeding me…? Even if it’s adorable, I can’t eat cake like that, it’s just going to throw my whole diet off, you know~?”

“I figured you wouldn’t eat anything at all unless it was from me. Just think of it like an indirect kiss.”

That’s enough to strike Izumi’s very soul. 

Even if it barely counts, he happily opens up for that kind of gross interaction he’d normally brush away from. Even if it takes forever to bring himself back on balance from this one moment of weakness out of him, he’d cherish the moment of contact for an eternity. It doesn’t sit entirely well with Makoto, but the purity of Izumi’s cherished love shines as bright as the morning star in the sky. It’s quite precious, it almost reminds him of simpler times. 

More than that, it’s like picking up a good book right where he left off after an arduously long day. They’re just building new simple memories, something he hadn’t really imagine possible in the past. Izumi’s warm smile is brilliantly lit even under the worst mall lighting; even if it’s a bit hypocritical of him to take photos without asking, he takes a moment in Izumi’s distraction to steal his smile away in a photograph.

“If you didn’t go talking so much, you’d be really cute, huh… I guess being a model does suit Izumi the best?”

“H-hey, that’s not fair? I want a picture, too? Ah, no~ We could set eachother’s pictures as our phone backgrounds, even? That would be…”

Izumi keeps on his blathering about such sweet little nothings, as though they’re already a happily established couple. That’s basically how it’s always been, but after such a display people might actually get that idea out of them in the end. For someone who cares so much about his image, Izumi really doesn’t bother where it counts.

Of course, Makoto never has, either…

“If you can really put up with doing something so embarrassing, sure… You can take one picture.”

He holds up a finger for emphasis, feigning annoyance, but he’s rather content with this. Even if he won’t hold up and do the same for his phone, he’s happy to enjoy the simple pleasures of being friends. It almost feels like walking on clouds, and he can’t help but wonder if this is how it would have ended up in the first place if their past hadn’t gotten so corrupt as it did. He’s not even entirely certain where he stands in Izumi’s life anymore, or if he needs that kind of protective older-brother type partnership anymore. 

There’s plenty of time for him to be confused about it later. For now, just going along with the flow suits them best.

“R-Really?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll even take off my glasses, see~”

It really doesn’t change much, Makoto is a handsome guy either way, but it absolutely pleases Izumi to be catered to as such. He’s quite the bratty child, but there’s a cuteness in that sort of spoiled person even if it doesn’t extend well to adulthood. He smiles in just the same way as Izumi, but he doesn’t do it as an actor, as a doll the way he once would imitate his senior. It’s only fair of him to show off his growth if a picture lasts an eternity, after all. 

_ “Cheese~” _

He says, letting down his guard just long enough for Izumi to take his shot. There’s still a bit of anxiety to it, a difficulty in comfort after the fact, but it doesn’t feel quite so strange anymore. He supposes that, too, is in part due to Izumi’s efforts to care for him. He really has to grow beyond that, to rival Izumi-  _ to rival Knights _ \- with the proper level of valor. They’re no longer precious children anymore, afterall. Izumi might prefer to be seen as a reliable older brother, but to Makoto, it would be best if they could find love in each other as equals instead.

He’d never say something so embarrassing outloud, and ruin Izumi’s moment of giddiness squealing over something as silly as a picture. Though that bears its own form of cuteness, it’s not the genuine kind of love that lasts until death. Makoto is fine with waiting for them both to grow up a little more, picking up this love right where they left it another day, if that day ever comes. That’s what makes life beautiful, after all, and everyday he lives his life in a humanlike way he understands it better.

Just what makes love waiting for, what makes love living for. It once seemed impossible for him to understand Izumi’s feelings, but now the prospect of a conversation seems closer than even tomorrow may come. If they hold hands and blab on about meaningless things tonight, then certainly tomorrow they can plan the rest of their days with precision and trust.

**Author's Note:**

> C O M M E N T P L E A S E ! ! ! ! ! ! !  
> please don't hate me for the boys ........ i'll never do it again i get enough slack for shnz


End file.
